First quarter GDP rose only 0.2% during first quarter, according to the Commerce Department, missing expectations of 1%. During the fourth quarter, the economy grew 2.2%. While cold weather tends to hurt growth, some economists wonder if the anemic GDP is attributed to more substantial factors, beyond colder temperatures. ‘What we’ve seen is confirmation that the consumer doesn’t feel compelled to go out and spend money,’ said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at the London-based CMC Markets. ‘This is a trend I’ve been monitoring for the last four or five months. You can blame the cold weather if you’d like, but I only think that’s part of the problem.’ TheStreet’s Scott Gamm reports from New York.
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